182 members of the House of Representatives have written to House Speaker Mike Johnson and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries to ask them to prevent a major cut in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments (Medicaid DSH) that is scheduled to take effect on January 1.
As members of Congress negotiate how to fund the federal government when the current continuing resolution ends on December 20, the bipartisan group of legislators as urges its leaders to prevent the $8 billion cut in Medicaid DSH allocations to the states. Their letter states that
Hospitals that receive Medicaid DSH funding treat the most vulnerable patients in our communities, including children, the elderly and the disabled. They shoulder the burden of significant uncompensated care costs, while offering vital services to their patients. While Medicaid DSH does not always cover all of the uncompensated care that DSH hospitals provide, such payments help ensure these hospitals are able to continue serving large numbers of low-income and uninsured patients.
Since 2013, Congress has acknowledged the importance of maintaining Medicaid DSH payments by repeatedly passing legislation to delay statutory cuts from going into effect. On January 1st, Medicaid DSH hospitals are again subject to an $8 billion annual cut—which amounts to nearly half of the federal DSH funding. These cuts will persist through FY2027 and will impact states and hospitals across the country. In fact, according to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), some states will face cuts of 60 percent of their current DSH allotments if the reductions take effect.
Our nation’s Medicaid DSH hospitals, many of which are the backbone of rural and urban communities alike, simply cannot absorb losses of this magnitude. We ask that you work to prevent these DSH cuts, to ensure our hospitals can continue their mission of providing care for the most vulnerable among us.
Go here to see the bipartisan House letter, which includes the signatures of the 182 members who support preventing the scheduled Medicaid DSH cut.